BLRW cross beak chick :(

[Katy]

Quote:
That is not a true statement. It can and usually does get much worse as time goes on.

 

[chickerdoodle]

I will add that Hyacinth was the biggest chick at 2-3 days old and still is the biggest at 4weeks. She always has a nice full crop, flies around and pecks at everything--she's normal in every other way. She has no problem eating and drinking (obviously) at this point and I plan on keeping her if she can eat and drink well herself. If she turns out to be a roo or cannot eat or drink well by herself then I will have to decide what to do but I will not breed her (or him) in any case. I won't allow her to suffer it it becomes that bad and since my flock consists of only the 5 of them so I can easily keep an eye on her to be sure all is well. sigh.

darkUnicorn--she did get vitamins for 8 days--they all did. I stopped then as too much for a healthy chick can be detrimental (kind of a darned if you do, darned if you don't scenerio). Thanks for the suggestion though.

If all is OK as an adult then I don't mind having a hen with a "defect"--its just something to make her more unique.

 

[ICallMyselfCherie']

Hi there. I'm sorry you have to worry about this. I don't know anything about whether it will get worse or not, but I have seen a cross-beaked roo before, and, call me crazy, but I thought he was the cutest thing. He watched as he ate all the other chicken's food, too!!

My boyfriend would be completely stressed out if he knew I was saying this, but here goes. If it turns out you can't keep him, I'd like to take him. Of course, if you wind up being sure it's going to get worse and worse until he starves or just has a miserable existence, I won't be able to deal with that. My boyfriend and I just had a wonderful young cat who was family to us come down with Feline Infectious Peritonitis, a rare, species-specific disease with 100% mortality. It happened so fast, when we found out, he was already quite ill. He was just going to get sicker and sicker until he died, so we had him euthenized.

It was the only humane choice, but it was one of the saddest moments of my life. That was not even quite a week ago, so I just don't feel like I'll be able to handle it. Both of us have only just stopped crying.

Anyway, I digress. My original point was that if you can't keep a rooster, I'll be willing to incur my boyfriend's wrath (it's his house) to give him a good home.

 

[chickerdoodle]

ICallMyselfCherie' :

Hi there. I'm sorry you have to worry about this. I don't know anything about whether it will get worse or not, but I have seen a cross-beaked roo before, and, call me crazy, but I thought he was the cutest thing. He watched as he ate all the other chicken's food, too!!

My boyfriend would be completely stressed out if he knew I was saying this, but here goes. If it turns out you can't keep him, I'd like to take him. Of course, if you wind up being sure it's going to get worse and worse until he starves or just has a miserable existence, I won't be able to deal with that. My boyfriend and I just had a wonderful young cat who was family to us come down with Feline Infectious Peritonitis, a rare, species-specific disease with 100% mortality. It happened so fast, when we found out, he was already quite ill. He was just going to get sicker and sicker until he died, so we had him euthenized.

It was the only humane choice, but it was one of the saddest moments of my life. That was not even quite a week ago, so I just don't feel like I'll be able to handle it. Both of us have only just stopped crying.

Anyway, I digress. My original point was that if you can't keep a rooster, I'll be willing to incur my boyfriend's wrath (it's his house) to give him a good home.

I am so sorry you lost your cat.

I was in veterinary medicine and behavior for most of my life so I have seen FIP many, many times. Its awful. So sad you had to deal with it. I imagine the veterinarian explained that it is contagious and the virus is capable of lasting a long time in the environment. I wish they'd come up with a good vaccine for it--they have been trying for a long time.

You are really sweet to offer Hyacinth a home if she turns into a he! We live in Oregon so its a bit far from you and logistics would have to be worked out. I promise you, I will not allow Hyacinth to be dinner if that happens. I may even try to keep Hyacinth if she is a he to see if he crows too much. If it does work out to be an issue I will let you know.Thank you so much for your offer.

 

[ICallMyselfCherie']

Thank you so much for your sympathy, it means a lot to have someone who understands.

Wow, what a coincidence that one of the first people I tell outside of my family turns out to be so familiar with FIP. It truly seemed that was the worst thing Behbah could have had. I don't know if that's true or not, but I can't imagine anything being more of a death sentence. My boyfriend and I would have spent a lot of money and given him constant one-on-one attention for as long as we could if there was even a chance of his getting better. But there was absolutely Nothing that could be done, and we felt as good 'parents' we only had one choice for him.

We had the veterinarian put him to sleep the same day she called and told us what he had. Within two hours we went from thinking we just had a sick kitty to not having our baby anymore. We stood there with him and stroked him as she gave him the injection. It was traumatizing, but I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself for just abandoning him in his last moments. I've been around and taken care of a lot of sick and dying animals, but I had never been present when one was euthanized. Even though I don't have any personal frame of reference, I'm not sure it went exactly as it should have, according to how others have described the process to me. It was not a gentle, peaceful, just "going to sleep and never waking up" -- he was not asleep or unconscious and was just beginning to try to walk away when he lost complete control of his body, and I saw a look of panic in his face as he fell onto the cold metal table. His tongue came out of his mouth and stuck to the table, his eyes frozen open, still looking scared. The vet listened to his heart and told us he was gone. Weeping all the while, I gently peeled his tongue off of the table and eased it back into his mouth. I closed his jaw softly and stroked his head, trying to close his eyes. It was the saddest, most horrible thing.

Oh, I'm sorry to have written so much . . . I guess I'm still trying to process it.

I don't know anything about it, but everyone else tells me it's very peaceful, just like going to sleep forever. I'm sure you've had to euthanize countless animals in the course of your career . . . is how they put Behbah to sleep how it is supposed to go?


Yes, the veterinarian did tell us that the virus could linger for a long time in our house. She said we should wash his bedding with bleach if we wanted to get another cat. The problem is, he doesn't have his own bedding. He slept in our bed every night, laid on all the couches, the carpet, played in the grass outside, and generally was anywhere we were in the house or yard at any given moment. Will it ever be safe to bring another cat into the home? I feel like as long as we live here I can't take the risk.


*sigh*


Well, enough about that!!


Oh yes, it is my pleasure to be able to offer Hyasinth a home if he needs it. A beautiful name, by the way, and apropos, I am sure, for the beautiful boy he must be!!

I've read some of the threads on here about crossed beaks and some of the things one can do to help with it. Again, if there is something that can be done for him and it's not a lost cause, I'll do everything I can!!

Yes, Oregon is a ways away . . .

Hahaha!!! I just looked on your page to see where in Oregon you are, and I saw you're from Portland. That city is forever iconic to my family and my boyfriend, because when we flew there for Christmas in 2008 we wound up getting stranded there for a week . . . and I'll bet you can guess why!!!!!

Yes, from here to Portland is about 481 miles (out of curiosity I just looked it up). I figure we could work something out if it came down to it. My mother is a crazy rock hounding fanatic and probably knows of a rock hunting spot she'd like to visit somewhere not too far from there. I could probably persuade my mom and dad to go and I'd ride along with them.

Of course, this would all be in the eventuality that it doesn't work out for you to keep Hyacinth for some reason. I know you'd rather keep him because you've grown attached to him, so hopefully it works out! In the meantime, hopefully it will give you some peace of mind to know there is a home for him if you need it.

(Whew, that was a long post!!!!)

 

[chickerdoodle]

You are a very compassionate person! I will keep it in mind if Hyacinth turns out to be a he that we cannot keep. She (I'm being positive) continues to grow and feather beautifully. She is still a piglet and gets a nice full crop every day! Hyacinth is not the bottom of the pecking order either--its pretty fluid still but she is pushy enough and is fine. She is also warming up to us more now--the goodies have come out more often to tempt her

.

 

[fairladi_chick]

we hatched out a crossed beak chick last yr,, but it didnt live much past 7 or 8 weeks i think,, & you can tell male from female at 3 or even 4 weeks,, males combs ar bigger than the females, and are the first ones to poke their head out if leavin the brooder for the first time, to make sure all is clear.

 

[ClairedeLune]

I have never had a cross-beaked chick, even though I have twenty 3 month old Wyandottes as we speak. I hope your little one gets better or at least doesn't get worse.

 

[msdoolittle]

We bought a little bantam with a slight cross beak a few months back. It did get worse in time, to the point he could no longer self-feed, and we euthanized him. However, you never know how a facial deformity will turn out, either. It may not progress to the point where they can no longer eat, so I'd hang in there. :0)

 

[chickerdoodle]

Quote:
That's what I thought! The first one to investigate anything in this group is an obviously female Barred Rock (black bands twice as wide as white and normal comb size for a female)! The second is an EE who appears female so far. Hyacinth may be a female after all from a behavior standpoint.

Her comb is not huge or reddish yet. She does have exceptional feathering and still slightly bigger than the others (same date of hatch) but is the only Wyandotte so perhaps its normal? She is 5 weeks old now and her cross beak is not that bad. I do see the BR peck at her beak once in a while due to a little chick mash that sticks on it right after she eats. I am still hoping it is only a small defect and that she lives a normal, long and happy life

.